the tone was pretty much set by arizona senator john mccain. >> should he be confirmed, and i'm confident he will be, i'm sure we will have our disagreements which i know neither of us will hesitate to bring to the other's attention. but i know he will acquit himself in that office with distinction and use his many talents and his indefatigable persistence to advance our country's interests. and i commend his nominationing to you -- his nomination to you without reservation. >> reporter: at this point senators seem to think that john kerry will be our next secretary of state. he is not believed to be one of the more controversial nominations, and so perhaps they will save their fight for a more controversial pick. uma? uma: looks like smooth sailing for the senator. thank you very much. >> reporter: thank you. jon: well, our military faces a major transformation. the pentagonner shoe -- issuing a statement officially lifting a ban against women fighting on the front lines. right now we are waiting to hear from defense secretary panetta and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff on a de